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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Compiled list of Eltahawy reaction pieces

When I examine comments in favor of Mona Eltahawy's Foreign Policy article, Why do they hate us? I notice that many of Eltahawy's fans think that Arab women who object and criticize her are the extreme few; maybe a handful of privileged women who know nothing about the Arab women's plight! While others assume that we Arab women are in denial and we just don't want to admit that we are immersed in oppression and hate.

What is ironic here is that many of the comments attack the women who criticize Eltahawy's article in a way that (in my view) oppresses Arab women and muffles their voices as if they have no right to speak up and should be thankful that Eltahawy has spoken for them! So, just that we get this straight: Eltahawy's proponents are all for Arab women's freedom from so-called Arab men hatred, but these same proponents object when Arab women voice their own opinions on the matter? I'd say that's ironic, undemocratic & outright oppressive!

So, in an attempt to clarify to these enthusiasts that they might be wrong, I did my best to demonstrate that Arab women who took offense to Eltahawy's article deserve to be heard too. These are diverse women from various countries in the region, with diverse backgrounds, personalities, education and problems.

So, here's a comprehensive list of reaction articles and blog posts to Mona Eltahawy's Foreign Policy article Why do they hate us? Most of the pieces were written by Arab women, but I also include articles/posts by Arab men and foreign reporters following this story.